GUWAHATI, Feb 9 - The United Liberation Front of Asom (Indepe-ndent) is adamant on its stand on the issue of talks with the Government of India and asserted that it is not talking with any representative of either the State or the Central Government.
Talking to The Assam Tribune over phone from an undisclosed location, the commander-in-chief of ULFA(I) , Paresh Baruah said that he is not against talks with the Government. But sovereignty of Assam should be the core issue for talks, he asserted. �We have always maintained that sovereignty should be the core issue for talks. There is no point talking on other issues. Let the Government talk on sovereignty and try to make us understand why we should not get sovereignty,� he added.
Baruah asserted that no representative of the Government contacted him or any other senior leader of the ULFA(I) and on his part, the organization has also not contacted the Government. �We have seen media reports where Ministers appealed to us to come for talks and we also made out stand clear through the media,� he said.
Justifying his demand that talks should be held only on the issue of sovereignty, Baruah pointed out that Assam was never under the Mughal empire like the rest of India. �We have lost so many youths fighting for freedom and tomorrow we will not be here but the next generation will carry the struggle forward,� he said.
On reports that his childhood friend Rebati Phukan, who is missing from Guwahati since April last year, is in touch with him on behalf of the Central Government, Baruah said that the reports were baseless. �Phukan is not in touch with us. We knew that he was not keeping well when he went missing. The failure of the Government agencies to find him is very unfortunate, �he said.
Replying to a question on how the signing of the peace pact between the Government and four factions of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) would affect the ULFA(I) considering the fact that the NDFB (S) was a part of the umbrella body of the North East militant groups, Baruah claimed that it would not affect his organization. He pointed out that the ULFA was formed in 1979 and the NDFB was formed much later. �It is a fact that at one point of time we had good relations but their decision to sign a pact with the Government will not affect us in any way,� he claimed.
